Tom’s niece, Allison, was getting married on July 9th in Denton, TX to Josh Fuel so I decided to fly in for the wedding and stay for the reception which was being held on July 11th.  The day-by-day activities are outlined below:

July 9th:  I arrived a few minutes late on American Airlines which was no big deal since I got into Dallas at 9:30 AM.  Lynda and Jim picked me up; we returned to the Red Roof Inn where all the family was staying.  Nephew Michael got in about an hour later and, while Jim went to collect him, Lynda and I filled out registration forms for my room and Michael’s.  Note: the staff at the Red Roof Inn could use a course entitled “How to Be Efficient With Staff”.  The four of us spent part of the day running errands for the wedding reception on Friday; we went to Hobby Lobby, Target, Barnes and Noble, and Costco.  Temperatures were quite high…above 100…the whole time in the area so I took lots of showers while there.  Sarah and Mike, Tom’s sister and brother-in-law, arrived around 4:00.  The Barnes’ left for the chapel for picture taking; we went later and stopped at Burger Time Machine for our evening meal on the way.  The wedding was held at Little Chapel-in-the-Woods on the campus of the Women’s Christian College in Denton; the chapel was difficult for us to locate and we were almost late.  The chapel is beautiful and the ceremony was simple, short, and very nice.  My camera did not work the best so please excuse the quality of the pictures.

 

After the wedding, a reception was held at the Italian Villa where there was beer, wine, appetizers, and cake served with the option of ordering off the menu if you wished.   A good time was had by all with toasts given and stories told.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got back to the hotel around 11:30…late for this old lady…I read briefly and turned out the lights.

 

July 10th:  Slept quite well and did not wake up until 7:00 A.M.  We went for breakfast at Denny’s where the service left something to be desired; our waiter did a good job but there were not enough wait staff for the amount of people being served.  After breakfast and once Jim ran some errands for Allison, we went SHOPPING.  We went to Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, Froggy’s (where I got a couple Christmas gift ideas for Savanna), Restoration Hardware (very disappointed they do not carry gadgets anymore), The Container Store, and Macy’s.  Lunch was at the Old Fashioned Soda Fountain which made an excellent Chocolate Malt.  Got back to the room about 5:00; after checking and responding to emails, I went to the Barnes’ room with a glass of wine.  Allison called and it was decided we would meet her/Josh at the Texas Roundhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the hotel where everyone went to their respective rooms.  I made some phone calls and read before turning off the lights around 11:00 p.m.

 

July 11th:  Once I got up, I looked online for the news, organized my suitcase for an early departure the next morning, showered, got ice for my cooler, and met everyone for breakfast at Danny’s.  Mike, Sarah, Lynda, and I decided to visit The Sixth Floor Museum located in Dealey Plaza, the place where John F. Kennedy was assassinated.   Even though it would of been better if the exhibits were further apart, the details of before and after the assassination was quite impressive.

We had lunch at Chick Filet; it was the first time I had ate at one and their soup/salad was very good.  When we returned to the motel, everyone went to their respective rooms to rest and get ready for the wedding reception that evening.  The reception was held at the Jackson Pavilion at Lake Grapevine; Lynda, Jim, and I arrived a few hours early in order to assist in the preparations.  The affair was quite nice with excellent food, good conversations, casual & beautiful setting, and a very happy newly married couple!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since some of us had early starts the next morning, we did not stay for the fireworks.  Made it back to the motel, read, and fell asleep.  Lynda came to my door at 6:00 the next morning, the 12th, to make sure I was awake.  I said my good byes to Lynda and Jim who were driving back to their home in Ohio.  My flight was leaving at 7:20 a.m. so I took the 6:50 shuttle to the airport.  There was no problem getting through security and my departure gate was right by the secure area along with a Friday’s restaurant so I ordered breakfast…the service at the airport was significantly better than at the Danny’s.  No problem with the flight, got to my car, and drove home with arrival around 11:30 a.m.  I was so glad I could attend Allison’s wedding along with meeting her new husband and in-laws; I believe she and Josh are going to have many, many happy years ahead of them.